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Anotherillness
13-04-16, 18:23
Hi everyone.
This is my first post and one of my first steps I am taking to recovery (I hope). I always respected how powerful the mind can be but I never thought I'd be the victim of my own thoughts. I've been suffering, on and off, with HA (health anxiety) for about 6 months but this latest round feels like a monster I could never have imagined.
Last week I started to feel a weakness in my right arm. I quickly came to the conclusion that it was ALS and the spiral grew from there. The feeling of weakness is real but I can overcome this weakness when wanting to lift something for example. It tingles the whole time and feels like its twitching (tiny movements) all the time. Every rational thought in my mind tell me that this is a result of breaking the car window with a metal bar. Embarrassing but I managed to lock myself out of the car 😳. I just can't shake the thought that I have als and this event somehow uncovered it. The panic attacks come and go, my sleep has been non existent and my poor wife is bearing the brunt of all this. It's got all the hallmarks of HA but with a twitch of a muscle my mind always reverts back to worst case scenario and BOOM, the panic takes over.

mersault22
13-04-16, 18:30
Hi.

I have recently been afraid of ALS too because of some swallowing issues. It's soooo rare and because I've been worried about it too, I know that the twitching of muscles isn't actually a sign of ALS. The twitching comes waaaaay later.

I feel your pain I have been consumed with HA recently and bogged down with very real symptoms. This is a good message board.

Good luck and keep posting.

Anotherillness
14-04-16, 01:45
Thanks Mersualt! I think the triggers for the HA for me are lack of proper sleep and then a fatigue related symptom which I immediately think is something serious. Combine that with my slightly OCD nature and it turns me into a wreck. The panic attacks are exhausting so I've thrown in the towel and decided I can't fight this on my own. Time to seek help and support from the professionals and my fellow HA sufferers. Thanks for your reply Mersault. I hope you find the balance and beat this. I have never joined a forum for anything. Even things I love so I guess there's a strong desire in me to get this under control.